Mature themes are one of the main components that separate Pixar films from most of the other animation that comes out today. In Toy Story 3, it was leaving your past behind, in Up it was loss of a loved one and in WALL-E, it was eternal loneliness. Each of those movies made adults explore their own emotions while simultaneously providing a fun, simple story for the kids to enjoy. Yet even at their darkest, Pixar films are still PG. They have to be. They’re Disney films and that means family friendly.

When you actually think about it, though, Pixar characters lend themselves to much more explicit ratings than the PG’s they’ve been labeled with. WALL-E is a robot that survives all alone on a planet of junk, Buzz Lightyear is a space ranger fighting aliens all across the galaxy and Kevin is one of the last of its species, protecting its family. Those are all high-concept, R-rated action ideas if I’ve ever heard them. Still, it’s slightly off-putting – and cool – to see these characters reimagined as bad ass action heroes. You see a glimpse of Buzz above, but check out more after the jump. Read More »